Best Practices for Reducing Gender Visibility Gap

After the launch of Tech Sis, I heard the same question countless times from countless male friends, ecosystem partners, etc. -- "How can I help?" Well, after talking with many abundantly talented women in the fintech/VC/banking spaces, I have some thoughts! I present... 💜 Amplifying Female Voices in the Workplace: A Guide for Male Allies 💜 Creating an inclusive workplace means ensuring that everyone’s voices are heard—and that means allies have an important role to play in helping talented women gain visibility and access to growth opportunities. Here are some ways male allies can champion their female colleagues and move the needle on career equity: Speak Up for Women in Every Room: Support women’s contributions not just publicly but behind closed doors as well. If you’re in decision-making meetings, ask yourself, “Whose voice is missing?” and actively advocate for her input. Allyship is about supporting women where it counts, especially when they're not present. Recommend Women for High-Visibility Roles: When new projects or roles open up, look at the skills women around you bring to the table and put their names forward. Many women face barriers to promotion not due to skill gaps but because they haven’t had the chance to shine. Be the one who brings their name into the spotlight. ✨ Share the Stage, Literally and Figuratively: If you notice women getting interrupted or overlooked in discussions, use your position to bring the focus back to their insights. In meetings, invite their input and be a voice that redirects attention where it’s deserved. On panels or speaking engagements, advocate for gender diversity in lineups and let women lead the conversation whenever possible. 🚨 Sponsor, Don’t Just Mentor: 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 While mentorship is crucial, sponsorship—actively recommending women for critical career steps—has an even greater impact. Seek ways to sponsor women by vouching for their potential and championing their goals to others in your network. Women often progress faster when they have sponsors pushing them forward in tangible ways. 🚨 🚨 🚨 (Can you tell I really wanted to emphasize this one?) Celebrate Women’s Wins: Be the first to recognize and celebrate women’s successes. Acknowledging accomplishments in a genuine way amplifies their impact and keeps the momentum going for the next opportunity. Every small recognition strengthens a culture of mutual support. Every little step counts when it comes to fostering an inclusive environment. When we’re intentional about allyship, it doesn’t just support individual careers—it changes company culture and creates a stronger, more resilient workforce. We are here to help create spaces where women’s voices aren’t just heard but are truly valued and elevated! 💜 What did I miss? What advice can you offer me to continue to be a champion for my fellow women (and overlooked men) as well? #womeninfintech #womeninfinance #womeninVC

As International Women’s Day nears, we’ll see the usual corporate gestures—empowerment panels, social media campaigns, and carefully curated success stories. But let’s be honest: these feel-good initiatives rarely change what actually holds women back at work on the daily basis. Instead, I suggest focusing on something concrete, something I’ve seen have the biggest impact in my work with teams: the unspoken dynamics that shape psychological safety. 🚨Because psychological safety is not the same for everyone. Psychological safety is often defined as a shared belief that one can take risks without fear of negative consequences. But let’s unpack that—who actually feels safe enough to take those risks? 🔹 Speaking up costs more for women Confidence isn’t the issue—consequences are. Women learn early that being too direct can backfire. Assertiveness can be read as aggression, while careful phrasing can make them seem uncertain. Over time, this calculation becomes second nature: Is this worth the risk? 🔹 Mistakes are stickier When men fail, it’s seen as part of leadership growth. When women fail, it often reinforces lingering doubts about their competence. This means that women aren’t more risk-averse by nature—they’re just more aware of the cost. 🔹 Inclusion isn’t just about presence Being at the table doesn’t mean having an equal voice. Women often find themselves in a credibility loop—having to repeatedly prove their expertise before their ideas carry weight. Meanwhile, those who fit the traditional leadership mold are often trusted by default. 🔹 Emotional labor is the silent career detour Women in teams do an extraordinary amount of behind-the-scenes work—mediating conflicts, softening feedback, ensuring inclusion. The problem? This work isn’t visible in performance reviews or leadership selection criteria. It’s expected, but not rewarded. What companies can do beyond IWD symbolism: ✅ Stop measuring "confidence"—start measuring credibility gaps If some team members always need to “prove it” while others are trusted instantly, you have a credibility gap, not a confidence issue. Fix how ideas get heard, not how women present them. ✅ Make failure a learning moment for everyone Audit how mistakes are handled in your team. Are men encouraged to take bold moves while women are advised to be more careful? Change the narrative around risk. ✅ Track & reward emotional labor If women are consistently mentoring, resolving conflicts, or ensuring inclusion, this isn’t just “being helpful”—it’s leadership. Make it visible, valued, and part of promotion criteria. 💥 This IWD, let’s skip the celebration and start the correction. If your company is serious about making psychological safety equal for everyone, let’s do the real work. 📅 I’m now booking IWD sessions focused on improving team dynamics and creating workplaces where women don’t just survive, but thrive. Book your spot and let’s turn good intentions into lasting impact.

How I hope the #iwd2024 theme of ‘Count Her in: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress.’ meets action: >> BANISH THE GAP Every company with a gender pay gap – and we’re going to know most of your names in February when the Workplace Gender Equality Agency publishes the data – closes it by Dec 2024. >> MEN AS ALLIES More men actively mentor, sponsor and champion their female counterparts so those women can progress their careers/businesses faster. More men step in when they see discrimination/bias/abuse, to take the load off women. >> FIX SYSTEMS, NOT WOMEN We banish any ‘fixing women’ discussions when talking about gender pay and retirement gaps, and instead focus on fixing systems. >> SHARE THE LOAD Every large company with an *extended unpaid* (usually 1-2 years) parenting leave option encourages dads to take it up, sending the clear message that unpaid caring work is to be shared between parents and is not just the domain of mums. >> SUPER ON PARENTING LEAVE Every big company follows the lead of those good folks who’ve done it already and opts to pay super on paid parenting leave for all parents. Do it now so you look good, before it’s a legislated requirement. >> VISIBLE ROLE MODELS Every education department in the country fixes the dearth of female role models in high school science curricula and textbooks per IncludeHer …then audits the same across all curricula and textbooks, and all year levels, fixing any gaps they find. >> SCALING FACTORS Grant providers acknowledge the gender pay gap’s impact on the ability to save matched funding and introduces a scaling factor to account for that handicap. >> ADJUST FOR BIAS Investors, including angels and VCs, use a personal checklist in all pitches to ensure that for every prevention (downside focused) question they ask a prospective female founder, they also ask *at least* one promotion (upside focused) question to adjust for bias. >> 10%+ VC TO FEMALE FOUNDERS Equity Clear publishing its members' investment-by-gender performance sparks massive action to get more investment into businesses led by female founders and teams, and the percentage of investment in those businesses exceeds 10% within a year. >> DAD + DAUGHTER MONEY CHATS I’d like every father to talk to their daughters about investing. How you do it, what the risks are, and how you manage them included. Don’t talk about their spending habits. Show them the power of compounding and let that motivate them to save. ------------- Notice how none of those are actions for women alone to do. I’m not saying I want women to be better savers and better investors. They are already good at those things. …they just need more income to save and invest. I’m not saying I want women to ask for more pay rises, or investment, or apply for more grants. They already do. …they’re just awarded them less often than men are. Let's fix it ALL. Pics with fab women: Kat Ross and Sandra Tuohy at Women in Technology WA Inc. (WiTWA)!